Tribute to Edward Pruitt: Navy Veteran Retires After 22 Years

BY MILES LAYTON

A round-up of all things Tangier Island…

Navy veteran and Tangier native Edward Pruitt is retiring as Master Chief Intelligence Specialist after 22 years of service to our nation.

Air Force Brigadier General Abe “NOZL” Jackson, Air Combat Command Director of Intelligence, was the keynote speaker at the retirement ceremony paying tribute to Pruitt that was held Friday (March 14) at the Hall of Heroes Auditorium in Suffolk. A Master Chief is the most senior enlisted sailor in a Navy unit. For more photos of Pruitt, see the end of the story.

After enlisting in the Navy in March of 2003 and attending Recruit Training Command Great Lakes, Pruitt completed Intelligence Specialist “A” School in Virginia Beach. Pruitt is a graduate of the following developmental schools: Strike Intelligence “C” School; Operational Intelligence “C” School; Ground Intelligence “C” School; and Navy Senior Enlisted Academy (229 Red). He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a minor in government and public affairs from Christopher Newport University.

Edward Pruitt, thanks for your service — you are a great example of the kind of leaders that Tangier produces. Remember, it’s not the size of the town that matters most about a person’s upbringing, it’s the size of the person’s commitment to the community and dedication to duty that matters most in life.

Pruitt’s overseas and deployable tours include Senior Enlisted Leader, JIOCUEUR Analytic Center in Molesworth, England; Intelligence Department Leading Chief Petty Officer (LCPO), USS George Washington (CVN 73); Operations Department LCPO and Independent Duty IS, USS San Jacinto (CG 56); OT Division Leading Petty Officer and Independent Duty IS, USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51); watch supervisor and lead anti-piracy analyst, USS Nassau (LH 4). Pruitt has deployed in support of USS Wasp (LHD 1) 2006 surge deployment in support of Joint Task Force Lebanon in Riverine Squadron II in Umm Qasr, Iraq. He has completed IA tours to Afghanistan as LNO for the 17,000 personnel at Combined Forces-Afghanistan (CFC-A) and as a Combat Advisor for the G2 at the Ninawa Operations Command in Mosul, Iraq.

R-L: Pruitt, Jack Pruitt (brother) and Don Crockett

Pruitt’s shore assignments include N3 LCPO, Navy Expeditionary Intelligence Command; N2 LCPO, Riverine Group One; PACOM Watch Officer, Office of Naval Intelligence.

Pruitt is Enlisted Information Warfare, Enlisted Surface Warfare, Enlisted Air Warfare and Enlisted Expeditionary Warfare qualified. He was the 2018 recipient of the Edwin T. Layton Award for outstanding leadership and mentorship.

Pruitt’s personal decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Navy Commendation Medal (three awards), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Navy Achievement Medal (six awards), with various campaign and unit awards.

Next, Castella Dise was recognized by Brookdale Senior Living as an Everyday Hero because of her hard work and commitment to serving the residents.

In other news, the National Museum of Language (College Park, MD) would like someone to present on efforts to preserve your unique brand of English language – referred the matter to Council member Sharon Haynie. On that note, seeing that the National Museum of Language reached out, that means lots of folks are reading our website – that’s good news.

Thanks goes to Christopher Parks, a strong supporter of the Island’s newspaper/website, who reached out to share this news – A Basic Life Support (BLS) for Health Care Providers CPR Course will be offered between 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Friday, March 28 at Tangier Combined School.

Parks said the BLS class is designed to teach healthcare professionals the essential skills for responding to emergencies involving cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, and choking. This training is essential for those in medical fields who may be the first to respond to emergencies in hospitals, clinics, or other healthcare settings. Topics discussed will be CPR, Airway Management, Choking, Team Dynamics, Recognition of Cardiac Arrest and Special Considerations.

Pre-Register by contacting Christopher Parks 410-726-3134 or Tangier Fire Department 757-891-2347

Next, per Parks, American Heart Association Basic First Aid CPR and AED Course will be offered between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, March 29 at Tangier Combined School.

Every 90 seconds someone dies from sudden cardiac arrest, could you help save a life???

This 6 ½ hour course is designed to teach rescuers how to perform the following: Removing Protective Gloves, Finding the problem, using an Epinephrine Pen, Controlling Bleeding and Bandaging, Opioid- Associated Life-Threatening Emergency, CPR on adults, children, and infants and how to help an adult, child, or infant who is choking and the use of an AED. This class also teaches what to do in the first few minutes of an illness or injury before professional help arrives. Narcan will be issued to all class participants.

Please register by calling the school at (757) 891-2234 or Christopher Parks (410) 726-3134

If you folks have news tips our Island newspaper, please reach out to me via Facebook — my photo is the one of that cross in the marsh that says “Christ Is Life” or send me an email at mileslayton1969@gmail.com